December 31st, 1656

Born on December 31st, 1656

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 134,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 774 days, exactly on August 14th, 2026, people who were born on December 31st, 1656 will be 135,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on December 31st?

December 31st, 1950

Korean War: North Korean troops attacked United Nations forces in the first of two battles at Wonju.

December 31st, 2010

28 tornadoes (one depicted) touched down in midwestern and southern United States, part of an outbreak that led to the deaths of nine people and large property damage.

December 31st, 1999

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin became acting president upon President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation.

December 31st, 1998

The European Exchange Rate Mechanism froze the exchange rates of the legacy currencies in the eurozone, establishing the value of the euro.

December 31st, 1993

Brandon Teena, an American trans man, was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska; his death led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.

December 31st, 1986

Three disgruntled employees set fire to the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing more than 90 people and injuring 140 others, making it the second-deadliest hotel fire in United States history.

December 31st, 1972

Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of that year's Nicaragua earthquake.

December 31st, 1965

Central African military officers led by Jean-Bédel Bokassa began a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.

December 31st, 1961

RTÉ, Ireland's first television network, began broadcasting.

December 31st, 1909

The Manhattan Bridge, connecting Lower Manhattan to Downtown Brooklyn and considered to be the forerunner of modern suspension bridges, opened to traffic.

December 31st, 1907

New York City held its first annual ball drop event in Times Square as part of New Year's Eve celebrations.

December 31st, 1862

The Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, began with an engagement in which both sides would suffer their highest casualty rates in the American Civil War.

December 31st, 1857

Queen Victoria announced the choice of Ottawa (pictured), then a small logging town, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada.

December 31st, 1775

American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed an attack by the Continental Army to capture Quebec City and enlist French Canadian support.

December 31st, 1759

Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum to the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin and began brewing Guinness.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on December 31st

Same Day
Who's birthday is on December 31st?

78

Vernon Wells

Australian actor

*December 31st, 1945, Rushworth

84

Henri Matisse

French artist (1869–1954)

*December 31st, 1869, Le Cateau-Cambrésis †November 3rd, 1954, Nice

65

Jacques Cartier

Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)

*December 31st, 1491, Saint-Malo †September 1st, 1557, Saint-Malo

31

Manu Attri

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1992, Meerut

86

Anthony Hopkins

Welsh actor and director (born 1937)

*December 31st, 1937, Port Talbot

65

Ferdinand Noack

German classical archaeologist and classical philologist (1865-1931)

*December 31st, 1865, Burgholzhausen vor der Höhe †September 21st, 1931, Berlin

57

Rudy Gunawan

Badminton player

*December 31st, 1966, Surakarta

49

Bas Böttcher

German writer and poetry slam performer

*December 31st, 1974, Bremen

96

Simon Wiesenthal

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter

*December 31st, 1908, Buchach †September 20th, 2005, Vienna

69

Herman Boerhaave

Dutch botanist, chemist, humanist, and physician (1668–1738)

*December 31st, 1668, Voorhout †September 23rd, 1738, Leiden

67

Vaughan Jones

New Zealand mathematician and Fields Medalist

*December 31st, 1952, Gisborne †September 6th, 2020, Nashville

70

James Remar

American actor

*December 31st, 1953, Boston

88

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King of Saudi Arabia since 2015

*December 31st, 1935, Riyadh

78

George Marshall

American army officer and statesman (1880–1959)

*December 31st, 1880, Uniontown †October 16th, 1959, Washington, D.C.

65

Bebe Neuwirth

American actress

*December 31st, 1958, Newark

51

Grégory Coupet

French association football player

*December 31st, 1972, Le Puy-en-Velay

87

Elizabeth Arden

Canadian American businesswoman

*December 31st, 1878, Woodbridge †October 18th, 1966, New York City

82

Alex Ferguson

Scottish association football manager and player (born 1941)

*December 31st, 1941, Govan

80

Ben Kingsley

English actor

*December 31st, 1943, Snainton

49

Andreas Vesalius

Flemish anatomist, physician and author (1514–1564)

*December 31st, 1514, Mont aux Potences - Galgenberg †October 16th, 1564, Zakynthos

Same year
Born in 1656

85

Edmond Halley

English astronomer, mathematician, geophysicist, meteorologist and physicist

*October 29th, 1656, Haggerston †January 14th, 1742, Greenwich

66

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach

Sculptor and architect from Austria (1656-1723)

*July 20th, 1656, Graz †April 5th, 1723, Vienna

64

John Leake

English naval officer and politician (1656-1720)

*July 4th, 1656, Rotherhithe †August 21st, 1720, Greenwich

60

Anton Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg

Princely Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg and Governor of the Electorate of Saxony

*April 23rd, 1656, Munich †October 10th, 1716, Wermsdorf

66

Guillaume Dubois

French cardinal and politician (1656-1723)

*September 6th, 1656, Brive-la-Gaillarde †August 10th, 1723, Palace of Versailles

81

Benoît de Maillet

French naturalists, biologist and diplomat (1656-1738)

*April 12th, 1656, Saint-Mihiel †January 30th, 1738, Marseille

89

Nicolas de Largillière

French painter (1656-1746)

*October 10th, 1656, Paris †March 20th, 1746, Paris

52

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort

French botanist (1656-1708)

*June 5th, 1656, Aix-en-Provence †December 28th, 1708, Paris

36

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark

Queen consort of Sweden (1656-1693)

*September 11th, 1656, Copenhagen †July 26th, 1693, Karlberg Palace

72

Marin Marais

French composer and viol player

*May 31st, 1656, Paris †August 15th, 1728, Paris

38

Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland

English politician (1656-1694)

*February 16th, 1656, Swallowfield †May 24th, 1694, London

65

Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein

(1656-1721) Prince of Liechtenstein

*May 28th, 1656, Wilfersdorf Castle †October 11th, 1721, Vienna

71

Heinrich Theobald Schenck

German writer

*April 10th, 1656, Heidelbach †April 11th, 1727, Giessen

53

Sebastian Gercken

German politician

*June 15th, 1656, Magdeburg †February 8th, 1710, Lübeck

89

Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer

German Bohemian composer

*September 6th, 1656, Krásno †August 27th, 1746, Rastatt

81

Georg Reutter I

German composer and organist

*November 3rd, 1656, Vienna †August 29th, 1738, Vienna

72

Sébastien Truchet

French Dominican priest, inventor, and scientist (1657–1729)

*November 30th, 1656, Lyon †February 5th, 1729, Paris

83

Thomas Baker

English antiquarian, born 1656

*September 14th, 1656, Lanchester †July 2nd, 1740, London

60

Philipp Wilhelm Boyneburg

(1656-1717)

*November 22nd, 1656, Mainz †February 23rd, 1717, Erfurt

62

Juan Andrés de Ustariz

Royal Governor of Chile 1709-1716

*March 31st, 1656, Narbarte †May 19th, 1718, Santiago

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on December 31st

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day, New Year's Eve) which are celebrated on December 31st.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

Yes: 1656 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
December 1656